Obsidian

Motorbike in Vietnam

4 min read

On the first day I arrived in Vietnam (August 3rd, 2016) I rented a motorbike. And this became my primary mode of transportation in this country. For 10 years I never drove a car, but had a few bus trips, some flights and a journey by train to Danang in 2024. This page is more of an overview for long-distance road trips, not just a daytrip to Nha Trang.

Saigon to Hanoi I - 4 days 1903km

This trip was on my todo list for some time. In 2021 some teachers of SSIS had taken this trip and shared their experiences with me. When I got the time in summer 2023 I organized this trip, too. I did not ended up in Hanoi directly, but passed it a little. The short overview

That’s a total distance of 1903.8 kilometer in 4 days. 475 km per day on average. That’s a lot!

Saigon to Hanoi II - 3 days 1694km

This is on the brim of possibilities to travel 1694.5 kilometers in just 3 days. The second day it rained from morning to evening, and even the third day started with rain. It only ended after Vinh. Here is a short overview:

I had to arrive on Sunday, because on Monday I needed a quiet place for a zoom conference, my first day of Semester 1 hcmue.edu.vn. After the meeting I had a little time to plan the week. Sunshine on Wednesday on Fansipan? And it’s a daytrip away? Let’s go! 565 km per day. That’s how One week in Hanoi and Sapa 2025 started.

Ha Giang to Saigon - 3 days 2073.3km

This is even more crazy than the trip to the north a few days earlier. Here I started even further north, for a total distance of 2073.3 kilometer. But the dates for wedding and assembly were set, so there was little possibilities to move it around. 691 km per day. The overview:

The second day was in full rain from Hue on, with glaring potholes all over the street. After Danang the streets got empty, since everyone was prepared for the typhoon to arrive. And it kept raining. I could not drive as far as I wanted, so the final day was almost 18 hours on the road. Starting shortly after sunrise 6:30 and driving through the storm damage region until midnight. Done!

Roundtrip Saigon to Hue - 14 days 2650km

We had great weather in May 2025 for our journey from the south of Vietnam through the mountains to the middle of the country, visiting the Imperial city. And then slowly returning by the coast. 189 km/day. Two weeks road trip Saigon-Hue 2025.

Daytrips

  • Saigon - Dalat 2024
  • Dalat-Saigon 2024
  • Saigon-Danang 2025
  • Na Trang - Saigon 2025
  • Saigon - Phan Thiet 2025

Average distance per day

This is just a ballpark number, but good to have one place to compare:

Graph View

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